NRA President David Keene to speak in McAlister Auditorium March 20 at 8 p.m.

MARCH 15, 2012
by John Roberts, Newspage Editor

National Rifle Association President David Keene will speak 8 p.m., Tuesday in McAlister Auditorium. The title of his presentation is “History, Politics, and the Second Amendment.”

Furman President Rod Smolla, an attorney and leading authority on the U.S. Constitution, will introduce Keene. The lecture is sponsored by Furman’s Conservative Students for a Better Tomorrow and Allen Arms.

The address will last approximately one hour and fifteen minutes and will be followed by a brief question-and-answer session. The event has been approved for Cultural Life Program credit by the university.

The event is open to the public. Student admission is free. General admission is $5, while admission to the light reception at 6:45 PM (which includes reserved seating) is $15. Tickets may be purchased online.

Keene attended the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he was the National Chairman of Young Americans for Freedom. His involvement in presidential politics extends back to the Nixon Administration, where he served as a Special Assistant to Vice President Spiro Agnew. His Capitol Hill experience includes such varied roles as Executive Assistant to New York Senator Jim Buckley; Southern Regional Political Director for Ronald Reagan’s 1976 presidential campaign; National Political Director for George Bush’s 1980 presidential race; Senior Advisor to former Senator Bob Dole in 1988 and advisor to Dole’s presidential campaign in 1996.

Keene is recognized as one of the chief spokesmen for conservative principles and politics. Accordingly, he is regularly featured on a variety of radio, television and print media, and has written for publications such as National Review, the Washington Times and the Boston Globe. He is also a columnist for The Hill, a newspaper covering Congress. He became president of the National Rifle Association last year.

For more information, email Furman’s Conservative Students for a Better Tomorrow at csbt@furmancsbt.org or visit the group’s website.